


“just follow my lead, don’t freak out, okay?”

by MusictoMii



Series: don’t freak out, okay? [2]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 13:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22356781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusictoMii/pseuds/MusictoMii
Summary: Richie drew a sharp breath and looked back at Eddie who was watching him with a curious gaze.“What’s going on, Rich?”The comedian put down his fork and leaned across the small table over their food, right into Eddie’s personal space. “Do you trust me?”
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: don’t freak out, okay? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606765
Comments: 3
Kudos: 235





	“just follow my lead, don’t freak out, okay?”

“Just text him, Richie.”

It had been three days since Richie had met Eddie at the bar and gotten his phone number. Three days since Richie had partaken in arguably the  _ best  _ kiss of his life, and three days since he’d started pining. 

Stan was over it.

“If you aren’t gonna do it, either give me your phone or go mope to someone else.”

They were sitting together on Stan’s couch. Stan was bent forward, working on a sparrow shaped puzzle on his coffee table with Richie sprawled out beside him. The comedian had his head on the cushion by Stan’s thigh, legs draped haphazardly over the armrest on the opposite side of his couch and kept sighing loudly, fingers drumming incessantly on the back of his phone where it was laying on his chest. Every few moments, Richie would pick it up, stare longingly at Eddie’s contact info, then drop it back onto his chest with a frustrated groan. He rolled onto his side and jammed his face into the crease between Stan’s thigh and the cushion with a whine, glasses digging uncomfortably into the bridge of his nose.

“I  _ can’t _ just text him, Stan!”

The look Stan shot him could have melted glass with its angry intensity. Richie, unaware of his friends ire, let out another loud, lingering sigh.

“What if he’s changed his mind? What if he’s realized he’s  _ way _ out of my league and can do so much better? What if he doesn’t remember me?”

Stan nearly growled in frustration. He sat up and abruptly reached for Richie’s phone, holding it out of reach when the comedian cried out and tried to grab it back.

“You’re being ridiculous. What happened to the man that was confident enough to stop him from leaving and asked to buy him a drink?” He hit the button beneath Eddie’s contact info and pulled up a new message screen. Keeping the phone well out of Richie’s reach, he began to type.

“Stannnnn.” Richie rolled over and tried to push himself into his friends lap to reach his phone. Stan elbowed him in the gut to keep him away. “I was running on adrenaline and the disbelief that a guy as hot as Eddie thought I was his best option for a fake boyfriend to get rid of a creep. A lot can change after the adrenaline runs off. I bet he’s realized that I’m some washed up comedian with next to no talent and he’s probably sitting at home, regretting the fact that he gave me his number, and dreading the moment I might actually text him.”

Stan paused his typing to look at Richie incredulously. He opened his mouth to speak, then paused, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly before hardening his expression and taking a deep breath. “Okay. First of all? That self deprecating crap you’re pulling right now? It’s bullshit. You’ve had a couple of bad shows. It happens. You just gotta take the time to assess what worked and what didn’t, do a little workshopping, then go out there and kill it next time.” His face softened as he took in the stubborn set of Richie’s jaw. “I know I don’t tell you this a lot, Rich, but maybe I should. You are honestly one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.” He held up his hand when Richie opened his mouth to argue. “No. I mean it. And I know you know that I’m not the person to just say this crap because you’re my best friend.” He smiled as Richie deflated and collapsed against his side. He could see the hint of a smile starting to grow on Richie’s face. “You’re funny, Rich. And you’re a great guy. If this Eddie person sat and joked around with you for over two hours, just to go home and change his mind about seeing you again, then he’s not worth moping around over. But, you’ll never know what he thinks if you don’t text him.  _ You  _ didn’t give him  _ your  _ number. The ball is in your court here.”

Richie sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, Stan was looking down at him with a raised brow, Richie’s phone still clutched in his hand, half typed message shining out through the screen. He sighed again.

“Ok.” He nodded to himself. “Alright, I can do this. I can text him.” He motioned for his phone. “Delete whatever embarrassing shit you wrote and give it here before I lose my nerve again.”

Stan gave him a satisfied smirk and deleted his message. He handed Richie his phone back and watched through the corner of his eye as Richie began typing.

**[to Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:37pm  
** _ Hey Eddie. It’s Richie Tozier. From the bar the other night? I had a really great time and was wondering if you’d like to grab dinner with me? Maybe this Friday? _

Richie held his phone up for Stan’s approval, then hit send, immediately flinging it to the other end of the couch where it landed face down on the cushion. Stan rolled his eyes but failed to hide a proud smile as he leaned forward to resume working on his puzzle.

Richie’s stomach was in knots, eyes glued to his phone. He yelped when it chimed with a new notification barely a minute later. He reached out with a shaky hand to grab it, almost pulling back with a start when it chimed a second time just before he touched it. Turning it over, he unlocked it to find two new messages from Eddie.

**[from Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:38pm  
** _ “It’s Richie Tozier. From the bar the other night?” he says as if I’ve been eagerly anticipating a text from a DIFFERENT Richie Tozier… _

**[from Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:39pm  
** _ Shit sorry, that was rude. Hi! I’m so happy to hear from you! I would love to get dinner with you next Friday. _

Richie let out a sigh of relief, shoulders sagging and dopey grin taking over his face. 

“He said yes, Stan!”

Stan hummed in acknowledgment. “Of course he did, Richie. He would have been an idiot not to.” His attention didn’t waver from his puzzle, but Richie could still see the upturned curve of his cheek and the happy crinkles next to his eye. He turned his smile back down to his phone.

**[to Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:43pm  
** _ Great! That’s awesome! I’m so glad! I got to be honest, I had kind of convinced myself that you were just gonna tell me to fuck off… _

**[from Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:45pm  
** _ What? Is that why it took you so long to text me? Dude, you’re a famous comedian. If anyone should have been having doubts here, it’s definitely me. _

Richie scoffed.

**[to Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:46pm  
** _ SEMI famous comedian. Big difference, trust me. Believe it or not, I don’t exactly have the best track record with men wanting to spend quality time with a scruffy old sad sack like me. You on the other hand are insanely attractive and funny and must have NO problem with gentleman suitors. _

**[from Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:48pm  
** _ Are you fucking kidding me? Do you not own a mirror? Are you delusional? Because if we’re going to start dating, I feel like I should know ahead of time so I can be prepared to call you on your bullshit. _

Richie drew a startled breath. Stan glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, but was quickly waved off.

**[to Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:50pm  
** _ Is that what you want? To start dating? _

**[from Eddie Kaspbrak] 1:51pm  
** _ I mean… let’s get through Friday first. But if this date goes anything like our fake date last week, then yes. I can definitely see myself wanting that. _

Richie grinned.

***

Friday came around much faster than Richie had expected.

He and Eddie had texted near constantly since he had sent his initial message, and now he was stood outside Eddie’s apartment building, dressed up in snug black jeans, and tugging anxiously at the hem of his custom fit, floral blazer while he waited for the other man to come down. 

They’d decided on a nice, Italian restaurant on the outskirts of the city. Nothing too fancy, but definitely much classier than the bar they’d met in, and just nice enough to warrant a hasty reservation, just in case. Richie’s stomach was buzzing with nerves and he had just started working through some deep breathing techniques when Eddie pushed through the front door and Richie stopped breathing altogether.

The smaller man was wearing slim fitting, slate blue slacks and a coral colored button up. Richie noticed in somewhat of a daze, that the color of his shirt matched the flowers on Richie’s blazer perfectly. Eddie stepped forward, coming to a stop directly in front of the comedian, and looked up at him with a pleased little smile on his face.

“Hi.” 

“Wow.” Richie’s face turned crimson as his mind processed his breathy little exclamation. “I mean… hi! Wow. You look really nice.” He ducked his head in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

Eddie’s pleased smile grew and a pleasant, pink flush spread over his cheeks. “Thank you. So do you.” He reached out and ran a finger down the lapel of Richie’s jacket. “I like your blazer. It suits you.”

Richie chuckled. 

“Well I’d hope so. My friend Bev designed it specifically for me. Said she got tired of seeing me in Hawiian shirts during all of my press junkets.” Eddie laughed. There was a brief moment of silence as the two stood and surveyed each other shyly. With an amused huff, Richie motioned toward the parking lot with a nod of his head. “Shall we?”

Eddie nodded and allowed Richie to guide him toward the passenger side of a sleek, red, Mustang convertible, with a large hand placed gently on the dip of his spine. The shorter man’s eyes roved enthusiastically over the exterior of the car as they approached, humming appreciatively as Richie leaned over to open the door for him. Richie noticed his awed gaze and smirked softly.

“You a car fan, Eds?”

Eddie nodded with a beaming smile. “I love cars. My friend has a garage that I help out in sometimes.” He climbed smoothly into the passenger seat and let Richie close the door gently behind him.

Richie rounded the car and slid in behind the wheel, giving Eddie an impressed look.

“Well maybe for our next date we can go for a joy ride. I might even let you drive.”

The look Eddie gave him made Richie’s heart skip a beat in his chest. 

“You’re so sure there’s gonna be a next date?” Richie's eyes were drawn to the teasing curve of Eddie’s smile.

“I’m counting on it, Ed’s.”

***

The moment Richie and Eddie walked into the restaurant, Richie felt a prickle of discomfort itching away at his eyebrow, and it wasn’t until the hostess had moved to lead them to their table that he realized why.

Across the restaurant, sitting in a chair at the bar far away from other patrons, was the unsettling, carrot haired man Eddie had desperately been trying to get away from the other night. He was slowly swirling a full pour of red wine and the hostess was leading them to a table near his end of the bar.

His eyes were locked on Eddie.

Richie whipped around and grabbed the smaller man’s hand, cutting him off mid sentence. Eddie’s eyes were already wide when Richie said, “that creep from the bar is here.” He leaned in close, lips brushing faintly over the curve of Eddie’s ear and whispered, “just follow my lead, don’t freak out, okay?”

“That’s what you said last week,” Eddie mumbled. He tightened his grip on Richie’s hand, but didn’t protest, allowing himself to be tugged along to their table.

As luck would have it, their hostess came to a stop at a table just out of ear shot of the man at the bar. Richie brought Eddie’s hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles before letting go and pulling out a chair for the smaller man to sit in. Eddie rolled his eyes but allowed a fond smile to grow on his mouth. He used the toe of his shoe to gently nudge out the chair across from him.

Upon taking his seat, Richie immediately tangled their feet together and reached across the table to take Eddie’s hand back into his own. He had strategically sat them so that Eddie’s back was to the man and Richie could subtly keep an eye on him over Eddie’s shoulder. The man still hadn’t stopped staring.

“I can’t believe he’s here. What are the fucking chances?” Eddie’s face was cloudy. His brows were furrowed and his lips were set in a sour frown. Richie was overwhelmed with affection for the man across from him, taking in his unhappy expression with a dopey smile and a mumbled,  _ “cute”,  _ that had Eddie blushing as he ducked his face into a menu.

Richie ordered them a bottle of Pinot Noir to share, trying to look inconspicuous as he kept one eye on the bar, and one eye on Eddie. The man’s face looked pinched and his eyes were narrowed, as if he were looking at a pest he wanted to get rid of. Richie’s hands were starting to sweat.

“Are you okay staying here? Do you want to go somewhere else? We can cork the rest of the wine and bring it with us.”

Eddie took a long, thoughtful sip from his still full glass, then slowly shook his head.

“It’s alright. We shouldn’t let him bother us. Tonight’s about you and me. As long as he keeps his distance, I don’t want to think about him.”

Richie squeezed his hand and nodded, then launched into a story about a new bit he was writing. By the time the waitress had come and taken their orders, Eddie was practically in tears from how hard he was laughing.

Listening to Eddie laugh made it easy to forget that they were being watched. Richie was enamored by every little twitch of Eddie’s facial muscles, obsessed with every joyful noise that came out of his mouth, hypnotized by every electrifying point where Eddie’s skin touched his own. When their food came, he let out a pout of disappointment and made a show of reluctantly releasing Eddie’s hand, just to hear him laugh again.

Richie was two bites into his plate of pasta when he noticed movement from over Eddie’s shoulder. His eyes immediately snapped to the man at the bar who was now standing. Richie watched as he placed a twenty dollar bill on the bar top then turned to drape a light coat over his shoulders. He took a step in their direction.

Richie drew a sharp breath and looked back at Eddie who was watching him with a curious gaze.

“What’s going on, Rich?”

The comedian put down his fork and leaned across the small table over their food, right into Eddie’s personal space. “Do you trust me?”

Eddie’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “Uhh, yeah. Yes.”

Richie gave a subtle nod then lifted his hand up to cup Eddie’s face. When he spoke, it was at a slightly raised volume.

“Babe, you’ve got a little sauce riiiight…” 

Using the hand on Eddie’s face, Richie gently pulled him forward and pressed their lips together. Eddie let out a surprised whine and pushed himself closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Richie sighed and licked tentatively at Eddie’s bottom lip, stomach swooping when the shorter man parted his lips and briefly ran his tongue along Richie’s own. With a pleased hum, Richie pulled back just far enough to take in the faint flush that had risen on Eddie’s cheekbones.

“... there.” The last word came out as a whisper into the space where the two men were sharing air. Eddie drew a shaky breath then let a massive grin slowly take over his face. Richie watched entranced as a dimple appeared on his left cheek. Eddie shifted forward and pressed another quick peck to Richie’s mouth then drew back, looking up at the taller man through his eyelashes. Richie let himself fall back into his seat and grinned dopily back at his date.

Just like last time, when Richie managed to tear his gaze away from Eddie, he saw that the man from the bar was gone, all evidence of him ever being there already cleared away. He let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly at Eddie as he picked up his fork to take another bite.

“He’s gone.”

Eddie chuckled. “Is this how you’re gonna deter all creeps from now on? Just lay one on me until they walk away?”

Richie smirked around his mouthful of noodles. “Are you complaining?”

“No.” He raked his eyes over Richie’s face, settling for a brief moment on his lips before dragging them up to make eye contact. Richie suddenly felt hot under the collar. “Although, I am dying to know what it’s like to kiss you when you aren’t just trying to stake your claim on me.”

Richie huffed out a delighted laugh. “Baby, I will kiss you whenever and wherever you want. Just say the word.” He ran a foot slowly up Eddie’s calf just to see him blush again. “Eat your spaghetti, Spagheds. I’m ordering us tiramisu for dessert.”

Eddie’s face soured at the nickname. “What the fuck, dude, don’t call me that.” He emphasized his words with a gentle kick to Richie’s shin. The taller man didn’t respond, just winked and blew him a kiss.

***

The drive back to Eddie’s apartment was comfortable, full of laughs, and way too short for Richie’s liking. Richie had barely pulled his car out of the restaurants parking lot when Eddie had reached over and taken a firm hold of his hand, interlacing their fingers with a confident smile. Richie beamed the whole way there, heart beating overtime in joy. Their hands remained clasped until Richie pulled into a spot outside Eddie’s apartment building and had to let go to turn off the ignition. Richie got out and met Eddie by the passenger door. He slung a long arm across Eddie’s shoulders and pulled him tightly into his side, smiling fondly down at the smaller man as he ducked his head to hide a blush and wrapped his own arm around Richie’s waist.

“So.” Richie began leading Eddie toward his front door. “Have I earned myself another date?”

Eddie giggled. “I don’t know.” He gave Richie’s waist a teasing squeeze. “I’m not sure I should reward the guy who prided himself in coming up with terrible punny nicknames all night instead of using my actual name.”

Richie scoffed. “Please, Spaghetti Head. You loved every minute of it.” When he looked down, Eddie wasn't even trying to hide a smile.

“Yeah. I really did.”

Richie’s heart skipped a beat as they came to a stop. He let his arm drop to his side as Eddie took a step forward and turned to face him. The shorter man looked absolutely stunning under the yellow glow of the street lamps, his eyes glinting brightly and causing Richie to feel more than a little breathless. Feeling brave, the taller man reached a hand up and gently tucked a loose curl back behind Eddie’s ear, letting his fingertips linger a beat longer than necessary on Eddie’s warm skin.

“I’ll text you, okay? We can figure out a time for our next date?”

Eddie nodded. He bit his lip shyly for a moment, then took a step forward and wrapped his arms snuggly around Richie’s waist, tugging him forward into a hug. He pressed his face into Richie’s collarbone as the comedian wound his arms around his shoulders and sighed in contentment.

“Let me know when you get home?” The words were whispered softly into Richie’s neck, making the tall man shiver as Eddie’s breath ghosted over his skin.

“Of course.” He loosened his hold and leaned down to press a firm kiss to Eddie’s forehead. He debated for a moment whether he should lean further down and give Eddie a kiss for real, but decided against it, not wanting to force the smaller man into anything despite what he had said and done earlier in the evening. With a warm smile, Richie stepped out of Eddie’s hold and took a backwards step in the direction of his car. “Have a good night, Eddie. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Night, Rich.” 

Eddie gave a small wave as Richie moved away from him, feeling a dim pulse of disappointment settle in his chest. Right before the taller man turned away, Eddie caught the subtle shift of his eyes moving down to glance at his lips. He sucked in a breath.

“Wait!”

Richie turned back at the sound of Eddie’s voice and locked eyes with the smaller man. Eddie stepped forward, bringing himself almost chest to chest with the comedian and reached up to curl his hands around the back of his neck. Rising up on his toes, Eddie pulled Richie down into a gentle kiss. It was just a sweet, simple, lingering press of their lips together, but Richie melted into it, feeling his knees grow weak as he looped his arms snugly around Eddie’s waist to keep him close.

When they pulled back, Eddie dropped back on his heels and Richie followed, resting their foreheads together. They breathed quietly, eyes closed and smiling shyly for a moment until Eddie pulled back and looked up at Richie from beneath his eyelashes. Richie’s chest flooded with warmth.

“I’m really glad I sat on you at the bar last week.”

Richie laughed, a sudden, loud burst that bubbled all the way up from his gut. He placed a finger under Eddie’s chin and tilted his head back up toward him.

“Me too, Eddie.” He leaned down and pressed another kiss to his lips. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> There it is! The sequel so many of you requested! This one was kinda tough because I had no intention of writing a part two when I wrote the first one so it took some extra elbow grease to work out. There are definitely parts of this that I’m more proud of than others but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless!


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